In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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